SCFTA Perris Round 7July 26th, 2014

Photos
by Janice Blunt

Article
by Jamey Blunt

#5 Rachel Schnakenberg got loud cheers from the crowd as she took the victoryin the Youth 50cc 2 stk Beginner final. #13 is Tristin Cruzen and #100 is LoganDaugherty....

#87 Jeff Johnson led from the start of the Pro Main Event. #84 Colt Fosterwaited and watched as #46 Andre Ochs andd #45e Ian Foulds gave chase.

#84e Colt Foster was patient, he waited and watched for a wayto take over the lead of the Pro Main Event. Once he did there was no lookingback and he checked out to take the victory in the twenty lap final ofthe night.

#84e Colt Foster being introduced to the crowd just priorto the Pro Main Event.

It took three re-starts to get the Open Amateur final in the record books.#558 Brandon Watters took the victory in front of #198 Alex Crosby and #112Jace Callison. #19v is Joel Kath, #11 Jim Medlin, #52 Cody Van Dyke and #07 Allison Staceywho joined the short list of racers who actually made it all the way through the crash wall.

#4 Henry Canan fought hard for the victory in the Open Novice "A"Main Event. #12 L J Gronek was close at the finish and kept Cananon his a game the entire race.

#112 Jace Callison has really picked up the pace this season and takenhis ability to a whole new level! Callison shown here diving under #558 Brandon Watterstook the victory in the Open Unclassified Main event over #46 Andre Ochs (hidden).

#71 Jon Nunes from King City Ca. won the Vet 35+ main event aboard a 2 stk.(Remember those?) #26 Steele Fredrich posted the fastest single lap time at15.52 seconds to Nunes 15.62. However Nunes was the more consistant ofthe two.

#6 Joe Steffen is Back! Seems Joe just keeps on showing consistency no matter what life throws at him. He took the victory in the Bomber main event with a fastest lap time of 15.22 seconds. Perhaps he has taken the Brenda Steffen school of racing class!

Don't bet against #22 David Molitor leading into the first turn. He rarely get'sbeat off the start. David's fastest lap time of 16.03 seconds was good enoughto top the Super Senior +60 and +70 field. #420 is Greg Powell, #83 Paul Claybaugh,#68 Gary Lane, #86 Allan Girdler, and #672 Mike Brooks.

#4r Lenny Rodriquez sat on pole in the Classic Vintage Final,but it was #95 Tom Ferguson who came through to finish first.#97 is Fred Berger, #14 James Kohls, #75x Joe Pape (backafter heart problems just a month ago), and the unknown rider...If you can't run a number plate it's hard to score you??????

With a lap time of 15.58 seconds #70 Jimmy Lundgrenwas the fastest of the Senior Vet +50 Expert field...

#39 Carl Whitt and #68 Gary Lane (shown here in heat race action)went at it all night, even though they were on different sized Bultacos.Whitt won the 250cc Amateur class while Lane was top man in the 360ccAmateur Class.

Photos
by Janice Blunt

Article
by Jamey Blunt

Have
you heard the expression; "it's so hot you could fry an egg on
the sidewalk?"Are
eggs the food of choice for temperature measurement? Do
meteorologists have their sidewalks coated with non-stick Teflon?
Well, there are no sidewalks at Perris raceway but it was hot, ninety
nine degrees hot to be exact. That didn't defer the one hundred fifty
entries that made up twenty three heat races and twenty main events.
Also the breeze that started in the late afternoon helped
tremendously.

The
Youth 250cc class not only continues to grow in number, it seems to
get faster with every round as the racers lower their lap times and
increase the competition. In the main event Clayton Williams had the
fastest reaction time leaving the line only to be displaced by Alex
Crosby for the lead through turns one and two. Travis Petton the 4th
came through the pack from a less that stellar start to run in third
by the end of the first lap. Jace Callison ran in fourth with Allison
Stacey fifth and Jaycee Jones sixth. On the fourth lap the red flag
was out for a downed rider and the race stopped. On the re-start
Stacey advanced to second position while Williams and Petton got the
worst of it and dropped to fourth and sixth. On the next run through
turn one Petton shot past two riders advancing him to fourth while
Crosby at the front opened up a ten bike length lead. Callison who
was away from the re-start in third had Petton closing from behind as
the white flag came out. Williams had settled in at fifth with Grant
Holmes fighting his way forward into sixth, the finishing order
remained unchanged for the final lap with Crosby the winner, Stacey
second, Callison third, Petton fourth and Williams fifth.

The
Youth 50cc classes are so varied with no less than four different
classes all within the displacement range. The difference being
two-stroke or four stroke, beginner or novice. None the less there
are always standouts in each class, with Paul Joyce, Rachel
Schnakenberg, Tristin Cruzen, and Travis Horn all winning their
divisions. The youth 65-70cc class is much the same thing, but with
some different players, all on the race track at the same time but
scored separately. In this class Ashton Carlson, Aidan Bromstead,
Isabella Mitchell, and Zach Earwood all won their main events.
Another race worth noting is the 85cc 4 stk novice where a high five
goes out to Matthew Ott who fought long and hard for the victory over
Reece Watowa.

The
Youth 85cc 2-stk Novice and 85cc Open classes have the same racers
and usually the same outcome. Travis Petton the 4th led
the field into turn one with James Ott right behind. Petton posted
the fastest single lap time of both 85cc races at 15.48 seconds and
inched away from Ott to pick up two victories for the night. Ott
stayed where he started both times and finished in second with Grant
Holmes doing the most work of anyone in the class overcoming poor
starts to finish third both times.

In
the Vintage 360-250cc Air Cooled 2-stk class all riders are on the
track together but scored separately due to engine displacement and
ranking. Carl Whitt and Gary Lane went at it head to head in the heat
race and main event even though Whitt was aboard a 250cc mount and
Lane a 360cc. Both riders have pristine Bultacos and each won their
respective classes, with Whitt having the single fastest lap time at
16.48 seconds to Lane's 16.52 second time. Lane also came back later
in the program to top the Premier Senior class for riders over the
age of seventy.

In
the Classic Vintage 500-750cc class it looked as though Lenny
Rodriquez would have a good night. Rodriquez led the heat race with
current point's leader Tom Ferguson pulling out all the stops to find
a way to the front. Lap time wise Rodriquez was at 17.22 seconds,
which Ferguson usually has no trouble bettering. In the main event it
was a whole different Ferguson who came to the starting line, this
time out Ferguson aboard the Jim McMurren H.D. Sprint put his head
down, took the lead and never looked back taking another victory in
the class. As for Rodriquez, he finished second with James Kohls a
solid third on his Triumph.

The
highly completive Bomber class is always up for grabs as all the lap
times are so close. Danny Perking looked the man to beat as he ran
away with the heat race and appeared in good form. But it was Jimmy
Lundgren on a barrowed machine from Jeff Johnson that nailed the
start to lead through turns one and two. Joe Steffen was away in
second on his Mr. Ed's Yamaha with Perkins third and newcomer to the
class Steve Fortune fourth. On the run down the back straight Steffen
shot past Lundgren for the lead and Perkins went wide through turns
three and four losing some real estate to Fortune. By lap three
Steffen held a two second gap over Lundgren and turned his fastest
lap time of 15.22 seconds. Fortune had dropped off the pace and left
Perkins with breathing room as the front four would go on to the
checkered flag with the order unchanged.

Jim
Rosa shot from pole to lead the Vet 35+ final into turn one. Jon
Nunes riding a 2-stk mount was quickly all over Rosa fighting for the
lead as they headed down the back straight, entering turn three on
the first lap Nunes took over at the front diving underneath Rosa to
do so. Will Ott ran in third with Brad Rudy fourth and Joel Kath
fifth. At the completion of three laps Nunes held a full two second
gap over Rosa in second as he turned his best lap time of 15.62
seconds. Back in third Ott now was receiving pressure from Rudy from
behind as Rudy had picked up his pace and caught Ott. A lap later
Rudy got a drive out of turn four and pulled alongside Ott up the
front straight and dove to the inside entering turn one to take
position and third place away from Ott. With a lap to go everyone
seemed to have settled for the position they were in as Nunes cruised
to the victory over Rosa, Rudy held his well deserved third spot with
Ott still in fourth and Kath fifth in front of another four riders.

Seven
riders made up the Open Unclassified main event, with young Jace
Callison really stepping up when it counts taking over the lead on
the first run down the back straight. Brandon Watters who led through
turns one and two now ran in second with road racer Andre Ochs seeing
the urgency and quickly slotting into third. Then on the second lap
Watters went down just as Ochs was all over him, Ochs has to get the
award for the save of the night as he not only missed hitting the
downed Watters, but stayed upright after hitting his bike. This
brought out the red flag stopping the race and Ochs appeared as
though it was all in a days work. On the re-start Callison once again
led with Ochs right behind in second and this time Scott Podergas in
third. Super-Moto racer Cristan Olguin was away in sixth but not
satisfied as he started a run forward that was impressive to say the
least. At the front Callison was flawless as he and Ochs separated
themselves from the rest of the field. A lap later Olguin was up to
fifth and then on the run down the back straight in one swift move
went from fifth to third with authority as the white flag came out.
On the run to the checkered flag Ochs gave it one more try and
crossed the stripe beside Callison's back wheel as Callison took a
well deserved victory. Ochs was a solid second matching Callison's
pace with Olguin the biggest mover in the field finishing third.

The
Open Novice class was so large it warranted an "A" and "B"
main event. In the "A" main Brian Harmon nailed the start
to lead through turns one and two with Henry Canan in second Jaycee
Jones third and L J Gronek fourth. On his first trip through turn
four Gronek came oh so close to throwing it all away but through
sheer determination saved it to continue on. On the next exit from
turn two Gronek dropped Jones to fourth and locked cross hairs on the
leaders. For two laps Canan worked the inside line closing what
little ground there was between himself and Harmon. At this point
Gabriel Alvarez had worked his way forward into the fourth place
position and early leader Harmon slipped back to third. Jones had
also faded from the front and was now running in fifth just in front
of Monty Watowa and Doug Reyes. By the white flag Canan and Gronek
had checked out on the rest of the field and would go on to finish in
first and second. Harmon held on to third over a closing Alvarez.

Eleven
riders made up the Open Amateur final. Brandon Watters jumped the
start attempting to gain an advantage but instead only gained a trip
back to the penalty line. On the next attempt Rich Hanson whose
always fast shot into the lead with Alex Crosby in second, Jim Medlin
was third with Jace Callison fourth and Joel Kath fifth, entering
turn three for the second time Crosby ran it up under Hanson to take
over the lead as Callison advanced to third. Then just as Watters
from the penalty line had moved up fifth Rich Hanson went down in
turn two bringing out the red flag. Watters made out on the re-start
as he started from the front row this time and put it to good use as
he led into turn one. Crosby was away in second with Kath in third
and Callison in fourth. Rich Hanson who started from the third row
was already up to seventh and on a mission. At the front Watters put
in the fastest lap of the race at 15.25 seconds to Crosby's 15.68 and
Callison's 16.00 flat. Kath running in fourth had seven riders behind
him all within striking distance, but Kath is a veteran and is not
easily rattled and held his position. Cody Van Dyke was the rider in
fifth just ahead of Rich Hanson, Allison Stacey, Clayton Williams,
and Jim Medlin. Back at the front Watters and Crosby had left the
field far behind when all of a sudden the red flag was thrown again
for Allison Stacey who was down on the back straight and made the
short list of riders to go through the crash wall to the outside of
the track. The concern was on the back straight on the other side of
the crash wall it drops off steeply and Stacey was nowhere to be
seen. Thankfully a visibly shaken Stacey was all right just missing a
light pole by inches as she made he way back to race track level. At
this point the race was considered complete as scoring reverted back
one lap making Watters the victor with Crosby second and Callison
third.

In
the twenty lap Pro main event Jeff Johnson had to be the favorite as
he easily won his heat race and was the only rider all night to go
under the fifteen second mark at 14.93 seconds. Johnson did not
disappoint as he led off the line with Colt Foster second, Andre Ochs
third, Nick Gil fourth, Ian Foulds fifth, Travis Petton sixth, Paul
Ott seventh, and Scott Podergois eighth. Johnson as always likes a
high line around the race track as it allows him to slide sideways
more. As he has stated many a time, "it's all about having fun,
not winning." Foster realizing this dropped to the low line on
the racetrack just waiting for Johnson to go too wide. Then around
lap four Johnson indeed went too wide leaving the door open and
Foster marched on through on the exit from turn two to take over the
lead. All this while Foulds was up to third with Petton into fourth
as Gil faded to fifth with Ott in sixth and Ochs dropping back to
seventh. By the half way point Foster was getting away and not making
any mistakes while Gil had regrouped and was gaining on Petton and
Foulds. Lap time wise Ochs fastest lap was 15.10 seconds to Foulds
15.12 and Gil's 15.20 making them all evenly matched. Foster at the
front had a fastest lap of 15.00 seconds flat. Next on the move
forward was Ochs as he took sixth away from Ott while Gil seemed to
catch a second wind and started a late march forward. Johnson
meanwhile looked to be tiring and was dropping away from Foster who
now held over a full second gap at the front. Gil on lap twelve got
past Foulds for third and set his sights on Johnson who was some
distance in front of him. Then on lap fourteen on the front straight
just before turn one Foulds with no rhyme or reason went down hard.
Petton doing all he could to avoid Foulds, couldn't avoid his bike
hitting it hard with his left leg and foot. Then going down the back
straight Petton pulled out of the race in pain, laying his bike down
in the infield. This in turn moved Ochs up to fourth and Ott into
fifth as the laps ran down to the checkered flag. With four laps
remaining Johnson was closing slightly on Foster to within 6/10ths of
a second. However what looked like Foster and Johnson both didn't
realize was Gil was closing in on both of them, if only there would
be enough time. At the white flag Gil showed Johnson a wheel entering
turn one, as the two exited turn two they were side by side with Gil
setting up Johnson for the run to the checkered flag which he won by
just a few feet stealing second away from Johnson at the stripe.
Foster had already crossed the line with the victory, Gil was a well
deserved second, Johnson third, Ochs fourth, Ott fifth, and Podergois
sixth the last rider left in the race. By this time the hot
temperatures had subsided, the crash wall had long been fixed and the
10:00 p.m. curfew had been meet, all in all another night of great
racing!